Fujitsu Launches New Arrows Line Of Tablets and Smartphones

Fujitsu showed off a new line of tablet and smartphones at this year's CES 2012. Known as the ARROWS series, the devices are thin, lightweight, run Android 2.3, and more interestingly are waterproof. Currently, the ARROWS series consists of the ES IS12F smartphone and Arrows tablet.

The Arrows ES IS12F smartphone is an Android 2.3 device measuring 64 x 127 x 6.7mm, and weights 105 grams. The phone features a 4 inch AMOLED touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon processor. Further, the smartphone includes a 5.11 megapixel camera with CMOS sensor, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. The software includes the ability to transfer data between the phone and computer using a Wi-Fi network. Corning Gorilla Glass and being water resistance are also features. The water resistance falls under the IPX5/8 designation, which means that the phone is able to function up to a depth of 1.5 meters in tap water for 30 minutes and/or sprayed with water from a nozzle "with a diameter of 6.3mm at a rate of 12.5 liters per minute from a distance of 3 meters for 3 minutes." The smartphone is currently available in Japan in glossy black or red colors. More specifically, the phones will be available in Japan starting January 7th from KDDI Corporation and Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company.

Meanwhile, the Arrows tablet is a 10" Android machine that the company is currently selling in Japan and is "definitely working" with US suppliers to bring it to the United States. This tablet is waterproof just like their Arrows smartphone, and both Tom's Hardware and Tekzilla noted that it was fully functional after being submerged in a fish tank. Further, the Arrows tablet is powered by a 1 GHz (likely Qualcomm Snapdragon) dual core processor, 16 GB of memory, the Android 3.2 operating system, and a 10" screen with 1280 x 800 resolution. Tom's notes that, while it is not going to overthrow the iPad it is lightweight and a solid performer. Depending on price, it could sell quite well in the states. Unfortunately, there is no word yet on pricing or when it will be available in the US. Tekzilla managed to catch a video of the tablet being submerged, which you can see below.

Waterproofing is a useful feature for sure if you are prone to bad luck like me, but more importantly will be pricing. If these devices are priced right they could certainly sell well but they will need to be priced very competitively to catch on.